UPDATE: A Rundown of the GOES-R Weather Satellite - The Latest from NASA

The latest GOES-R satellite will eventually replace the current GOES system, providing near real-time forecasts.

Update: System and propulsion modules for the satellite were recently delivered to a clean room at Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems facility. The system module of the A2100-based satellite houses three major electrical subsystems: command and dating handling, communication, and electrical power. The propulsion module had previously gone through integration of its engines, fuel tanks, and various other components. Once the two modules mate properly with the spacecraft, further integration, functional testing, and environmental testing will take place in order for availability in late 2015, with a launch in early 2016.

Previously: A new weather satellite, which improves forecasting quality and timeliness, recently reached a significant milestone when its system module was powered on for the first time. Developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite–R series (GOES-R) will benefit the US and Western Hemisphere in the areas of public safety, severe weather monitoring, space weather prediction, ecosystems management, commerce, and transportation. The data from the satellite provides accurate, real-time forecasts to NOAA’s National Weather Service as well as other organizations in both the public and private sectors.

The instrument suite on the GOES-R includes three types of instruments: Earth sensing, solar imaging, and space environment measuring. The Earth-sensing instruments include an Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) that maps the Earth’s weather, climate, and environment. It views the Earth with 16 different spectral bands, thereby providing three times more spectral information and four times the spatial resolution at a rate five times faster than the current GOES system The higher-resolution images allow forecasters to track the development of storms at even earlier stages. The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) takes continuous measurements of frequent intra-cloud lightning, which usually correlates with impending tornadoes and severe storms.

Pointing toward the sun are the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and Extreme Ultra Violet Sensor (EUVS) and X-Ray Irradiance Sensor (EXIS). The SUVI telescope observes the Sun in the extreme ultraviolet-wavelength range, looking specifically at complex, active regions, and solar flares. Those flares have the potential to affect the Earth’s environment and can potentially disrupt communications and navigation systems. The EUVS and EXIS sensors detect solar soft-X-ray irradiance and solar extreme-ultraviolet spectral irradiance in the 5-to-127-nm range, which can also disrupt communications systems.

Using a Space Environment In-Situ Suite (SEISS) and Magnetometer (MAG), the GOES-R also can monitor its own space environment. SEISS uses an array of sensors to monitor the proton, electron, and heavy-ion fluxes of the geosynchronous orbit, gathering information that can help mitigate damage to radio communications during high-flux events. The MAG on the satellite measures the magnetic field surrounding it, which helps to validate the large-scale space environment models used in operations.

The DCS relay system collects information from Earth-based platforms that gather sensor data according to a predefined set of frequencies and schedules. EMWIN is a direct service that provides users with information directly from the National Weather Service in near-real time, including forecasts, warnings, and graphics. Lastly, the SARSAT System is used to locate mariners, aviators, and the like in emergency situations via a network of satellites and distress signals sent from emergency beacons.